This Isn’t About Politics Anymore. It’s About Survival.
An Evolution in Thinking as the Political Landscape Became Even More Divided
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Back Then, I Thought I Knew
I can’t say I’ve always been politically motivated. I served this country for the right reasons. I’ve voted in every presidential election since I came of age.
I know what I stand for and I mostly paid enough attention each cycle to get a grasp on who was most closely aligned with my beliefs.
The Vote I Regret
To my shame and despair, I did not vote for Obama.
Long story, but I was in a very toxic and abusive relationship with my job and was not at my clearest at that point in my life.
It wasn’t racism, I can honestly say that. For most of my life, I have gravitated toward people who didn’t share my skin tone.
It was something else: I was a Republican, surrounded by other Republicans.
The same as my father before me, who took me to register and to the polling booth the first time I ever cast my ballot. I believed in conservative values: small government, less government interference in my life.
I thought I understood what being Republican meant, even though I usually voted for Democratic or Independent candidates.
I had been in a dark era for a long while.
And I came to regret that choice. Because I came to realize how good he was for this country. Was he perfect? Hell no. Who could ever be? But he was and still is a decent person.
During Obama’s first term, I earned my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. That cracked something open.
It helped me push through the gaslighting I was facing every day. It forced me to think critically.
And once I started doing that, I saw behind the masks of my so-called leaders.
Or, let’s be honest: my bullies.
I stopped caring what they thought of me.
I just started doing what was right.
Including having my own opinion, full-time.
Seeing Through the Mask
I never believed all Trump’s slurs even for a minute. I’ve always thought him to be the epitome of corruption.
When he won the nomination, I thought surely this must be a joke.
He was just beyond horrible; a bloated culmination of the very worst America has to offer.
He represented all that I felt was wrong with our society, regularly demonstrating the arrogance, hate and divisiveness that most other countries hate about America.
He wore it like a badge of honor.
The Unthinkable Happened
No wonder he got under Hillary’s skin.
I wanted to punch him through the TV screen every time I saw him lurking behind her during the debate.
No wonder she lashed out at his supporters.
I don’t think I believed he would actually win.
I can’t imagine she did either.
But then… he did.
My own son voted for him. My mother voted for him.
Their collective reasoning? Maybe he could actually “drain the swamp”. He couldn’t possibly be any worse than any of the others, right?
I knew better even then. I’d been working with abusers for ten long years. I saw the exact same patterns in Trump’s words and deeds. More: I felt it under my skin. My trauma knew.
I watched the news cycles; each scandal swept under the carpet. Each check and balance held only by the skin of its teeth.
Those were dark years for me personally. Losses unimaginable.
It was like the horrid bullshit I dealt with daily had spread across the nation.
It devastated me to feel like there was nowhere to go to actually escape it.
When the Nation Turned Toxic
I’d be lying if I tried to say Trump’s first term didn’t play a part in tipping me over. It absolutely did. That toxic job became even more toxic, bullies more emboldened.
As you all know, people just got meaner. Empathy was but a whim.
Families turned on one another.
Lifelong friends ghosted each other over difference of opinion.
Marriages broke.
Dark days, indeed.
A Breath of Relief, However Brief
Then, amazingly, it was finally over. The bully had been vanquished.
America could breathe again.
Well, through their masks, standing at least six feet apart.
We finally had someone in office who tried for positivity. Who tried to help the people of this nation.
Was Biden perfect? Hell no. No one is. But did he try as hard as he could? Yes.
Was he a decent person? Emphatically yes.
Did he try to move our nation back to the unity we were approaching before the blight on our history? Absolutely.
Just when the country dared to breathe, we plunged back into chaos.
Right Back in the Fire
Of course, here we are again, in the shitshow. Only this time is much worse.
Checks and balances? Gone.
People in office who will push back? Mostly gone.
A playbook to take us into autocratic rule? In place and going just swimmingly.
Nation divided? More than ever.
I am so tired of the news cycles featuring the latest Trump scandals/overreaches.
Every. Damn. Day.
I’m sick of his face.
I thought I was sick of his face before, boy I didn’t know the depths to which I could despise a person.
I only thought I did.
Will this latest Epstein scandal finally do him in? Too early to tell.
The real question is this: will it even matter? Or is this part of that playbook?
Much like Musk played his part and then was discarded, my sense is the same will happen with Trump.
At this point, he’s become more a liability than anything to those who are using him.
This Is the Line
Now, more than ever in our history, we need to stand.
We need to shout.
We need to not let the lies win.
We need to not be polite about this.
I’m not calling for violence, but damnit, scorched-earth truth.
Never let them silence you.
Never let them rewire your thinking to believe that there’s nothing we can do.
I know you’re tired. So am I.
But we must connect and be kind to each other and remember our rights.
While we still have them.
We can’t be quiet anymore.
Not when democracy is bleeding, not when history is trying to warn us in every echoing headline.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about survival.
And survival starts with truth spoken out loud.
So, here’s mine.
Shout
(exclusive to this platform)
To be silent
In light of injustice
Is to be complicit
We should discuss this
Are you really
Okay with czarism
Or are you afraid
To stand by your wisdom
I see the sheeple
Attacking the truth
Rewriting history
As if there’s no proof
All at the whim
Of a would-be dictator
Distorting facts
Couldn’t be any faker
Destroying our
Democracy from within
Selling his lies
To everyone’s chagrin
Gold-washed sneakers
A Bible that he signs
Worthless trinkets
Our morals he maligns
How in the fuck
Did we let this happen?
When will it end
When society’s blackened?
We can’t be cowed
Or look the other way
Silence they want
So he still holds sway
We must rise up
And shout our dissent
Despite danger
And malicious intent
It’s not the end
Not yet written in stone
Heed history
Until he’s overthrown
We don’t get to sit this one out.
Not if we value what we were told this country stood for.
Not if we still believe in something better.
If you’re awake: stay loud.
If you’re scared: link arms.
If you’re tired: rest, then rise again.
Because silence is exactly what they’re counting on.
— Liora
voice through fire | www.liorawrites.com
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